The project proposed for support for this unique UOl/COBRE collaboration will implement a clinical research study of newly diagnosed AMI patients at the UK Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine Hospital. The hypothesis to be tested, generated by the outcomes during the initial funding period of the UOl parent grant, is: "Select salivary biomarker levels of AMI are affected by the extent/severity of periodontal disease, but the levels can still discriminate AMI" and incorporates 2 specific aims: Aim 1: Implement a clinical research study characterizing periodontal disease in AMI patients;and Aim 2: Test the hypothesis that select salivary biomarkers of AMI are influenced by periodontal disease. Specifically, we will recruit 75 AMI patients from the UK Hospital and 150 AMI patients from the Baylor College of Medicine. AMI patients will provide a blood sample for serum, a sample of unstimulated whole saliva, and an oral fluid sample collected using the AwareMessengerd) System within 12 hrs of admission. Patients are reappointed at approximately 4 to 6 weeks by their cardiologist to evaluate their cardiac status. At this time, we will also schedule each patient for a complete periodontal examination and mucosal inflammation assessment. All biological fluid samples will be analyzed for biomarkers relevant to cardiovascular disease and AMI diagnosis including, CRP, IL-lft, MMP-9, TNFEI, BNP, CK-MB, MYO, Tnl, MPO, MMP9, d-Dimer, ApoAl, sICAM-1. This competitive revision supplemental funding will provide a rapid opportunity to extend the observational documentation obtained during the initial UOl award interval. Moreover, this novel relationship between the RPG and the interdisciplinary activities of the NCRR COBRE award will accelerate the progress of the scientific research and hypothesis testing in documenting the capacity of salivary biodiagnostics to aid in the rapid identification and more effective intervention and management of AMI patients. Specifically, these new funds can enable us to expeditiously implement a study that will be a fundamental requirement for the capacity of our industrial partner, LabNow, Inc. to bring this technology to market. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This competitive revision will link directly with the Center for the Biological Basis of Oral/Systemic Disease (CBBO/SD) as an NCRR COBRE that has provided an organized framework for research faculty at UK who share common interests in infection, pathogenesis, host responses, and cellular biology in the UK College of Dentistry, that focuses on oral-systemic disease linkages and as part of its research portfolio includes oral health relationships to cardiovascular disease.